The first trailer for Doctor Who season 14 is here, and it teases an epic, cinematic adventure that’s going to be equal-parts fun and emotionally torturous.
Released today (March 22), the official teaser for Ncuti Gatwa’s first season as Gallifrey’s legendary time-traveler arrived one week after Doctor Who season 14’s release date was announced.
We already had an idea of some of the time-hopping adventures that the 15th Doctor and Ruby Rose (played by Millie Gibson) would embark on this season. Indeed, a number of first-look images, released in late 2023, teased episodic stories set in 1960s England and the UK’s Regency era. Thanks to this season’s first official footage, we have a much clearer idea of how surreal, amusing, and heart-wrenching the duo’s travels through time and space will be.
Looks fantastic, right? Considering Russell T. Davies, who helmed seasons 1 through 4 of Doctor Who‘s 21st century reboot, is back as the iconic sci-fi series’ showrunner, we weren’t overly concerned that it wouldn’t look and sound great. Still, it’s good to see our confidence wasn’t misplaced.
For anyone wanting to know more about season 14’s overarching plot, here’s some extra intel, courtesy of a BBC press blast: “The Doctor and his companion Ruby Sunday travel across time and space, with adventures all the way from the Regency era in England, to war-torn future worlds. Throughout their adventures in the TARDIS – a time-traveling ship shaped like a police box – they encounter incredible friends and dangerous foes, including a terrifying bogeyman, and the Doctor’s most powerful enemy yet.”
Gatwa and Gibson, whose Doctor and Ruby teamed up for the first time in Doctor Who‘s 2023 Christmas special, are joined by a host of familiar names in season 14. Among the returning faces from the aforementioned special, as well as other seasons, are Jemma Redgrave (she’s back as UNIT leader Kate Stewart), Anita Dobson (Ms. Flood), Michelle Greenridge (Carla Sunday), Yasmin Finney (Rose Noble), and Bonnie Langford (Mel Bush). Stephen Moffat, who ran the show through seasons 5 to 10 and wrote one of the scariest episodes in recent memory in 2007’s Blink, has penned an episode for Gatwa’s debut season, too.
Jonathan Groff (Frozen), Jinkx Monsoon (RuPaul’s Drag Race), Indira Varma (Game of Thrones), Lenny Rush (Am I Being Unreasonable?), Callie Cooke (Henpocalypse!), and Aneurim Barnard (Dunkirk) are also among those who’ll appear throughout season 14. In a press release, the BBC confirmed Varma will play a mysterious character known as The Duchess. There’s no word on who the other actors are playing yet, though.
Swinging and bopping all the way to May 🕺🏾#DoctorWho premieres with two episodes on @BBCiPlayer in the UK 11th May and @DisneyPlus 10th May where available pic.twitter.com/cAAAltKFDvMarch 22, 2024
Following the October 2022 announcement that Doctor Who will materialize on Disney Plus, season 14 marks the first time that the Time Lord’s latest outing will be broadcast simultaneously on Disney Plus in the US and Australia, and on BBC One/BBC iPlayer in the UK.
Ahead of the show moving from its previous homes – Max (US) and Foxtel/Stan (Australia) – to Disney Plus internationally, the entire Doctor Who collection was also made available on the streamer for the first time, except for Disney Plus itself. Non-UK viewers are hoping the full collection will be available on one of the world’s best streaming services in full sooner rather than later.
Doctor Who season 14 will make its Disney Plus bow with a two-episode premiere on Friday, May 10 at 7pm PT / 4pm ET in the US. It’ll be available on BBC iPlayer at 12am BST on Saturday, May 11 in the UK (it’ll also air on BBC One later that day), as well as 10am AEST on Disney Plus in Australia.